The Effects of Jealousy
by RukiaKurosaki14
Summary: The green monster rears its ugly head when Senna enters their lives. Rukia can't handle the connection between her Ichigo and Senna, causing her feelings to spiral out of control. But sometimes, a little jealousy is just the thing to embolden people and give them the courage to change things for the better. Set during Memories of Nobody.


AN

Takes place during Memories of Nobody. Keep in mind that I'm not purposefully hating on Senna, so no flames please from you Senna lovers. Trust me, it gets better.

Disclaimer-I own nothing.

Jealousy

In all the time that she'd known Ichigo, Rukia hadn't ever planned on something like this happening. She was very self-aware and could easily recognize her feelings, even if some of them she chose to ignore. But never before had she experienced such a raging case of jealousy.

Though she acknowledged Orihime as a slight rival for Ichigo's affections, she'd never had much cause to be jealous over their relationship. The two of them were always equally uncomfortable around each other, so much so that at times it was hard to believe that they were friends. Orihime was awkward, nervous and fidgety. She didn't have to worry about her confessing anytime soon.

Ichigo was equally clueless and hardheaded, and if Rukia had to guess, he probably wasn't even aware of Orihime's feelings. Rukia's relationship with Ichigo couldn't be more different. They were always comfortable around each other, sometimes to great extremes.

But that was to be expected. They'd gone through so much together, had connected emotionally and always seemed to understand each other. Not to mention that they'd practically lived together. But that was besides the point.

She'd been jealous for a brief time when Rangiku had flashed Ichigo her breasts while trying to convince him to let her stay in his house. He'd kept shouting that a man like him didn't give into temptation, but she'd seen him peeking through his fingers. While she hadn't been completely surprised by Ichigo's behavior, she was still disappointed in him for it.

But even that was forgetable compared to what she was feeling now. And it was all thanks to that purple-haired rogue.

She'd just returned from a long stay in Soul Society, and she and Ichigo had set out to exterminate a Hollow. They'd easily fallen into their witty banter and were having a great time. She'd enjoyed messing with his brain and being proved right about him always leaving his body laying around, and it was amusing to watch Ichigo and Kon go at it, but then the blanks had appeared.

They were creepy, and reminded Rukia of zombies she'd once seen in a movie Ichigo had forced her to watch. She'd tried to be professional in the face of this unknown situation, but her signal had been jammed by the weird creatures. Before she knew it they'd reached out and grabbed her, and without meaning to, a cry had left her lips. And then Ichigo's sweet tenor voice had flooded her ears, crying out her name in concern. It was the best thing she'd heard all week.

He'd went on to attempt to fight the blanks with little success. And then before she could properly go and help him, SHE had appeared. The girl, later known as Senna, got on Rukia's nerves right away. Usually, Rukia found herself to be very open-minded and kind, but instead she immediately disliked the girl.

Maybe it had to do with her violence. Rukia took great pleasure in bringing Ichigo physical pain, and knowing that she was the only one he allowed to treat him as such was flattering. But here came this random girl, stomping on her Berry's face like she owned him. That right was reserved for Rukia, and Rukia alone!

If it hadn't been Ichigo that Senna was beating up on, Rukia might've enjoyed it. She might have even felt a kinship toward the other girl. But because it was Ichigo, Rukia felt uneasy and way out of her comfort zone. And it only went down hill from there.

Rukia usually hated being referred to as tiny, small, or childish in any way, especially by Ichigo. But hearing him call Senna a "little brat" brought her back to their first meeting when he had taunted her with the same exact name. That irked her greatly. But what she hated even more was just standing there like the third wheel as Ichigo and Senna went back in forth with each other. And then Ichigo had pulled Senna away with him, leaving Rukia standing their by herself. How rude!

It's like Senna was copying her attributes and habits on purpose. What kind of coincidence was it that Senna too liked high places, making Ichigo chase her and/or messing with Ichigo, and almost seemed to fit into Ichiog's family so easily? She had to be doing it on purpose!

She got some solace in Ichigo calling Senna a wacko, but that deminished once he barely protested her returning to the Soul Society. Okay, so what that she wouldn't have stayed anyway. The point was that any other time she was preparing to leave he would whine about it and tell her not to go. Then he would get grumpy and dismissive as if that would help him, before they finally shared a long, meaningful look before saying their last witty remarks.

But noooooo. All she got was, "You can't leave me with that nutcase!" Not a, "Do you have to go?", or even a, "When will you be back?" So to some up, she was feeling pretty dejected when she returned to her home at the Kuchiki mansion.

For a distraction, she threw herself into her research, wanting to learn more about the girl who was slowly but surely stealing her Ichigo away from her. She felt a mix of complicated emotions swirl around in her brain upon discovering Senna's secret, but vindication had won her over and she immediately went and blabbed to her Captain, who then spread the word. Before she knew it, a task force was formed and they were on their way to capturing Senna for good. But all her vindictive feelings evaporated when she caught sight of Ichigo's innocent confusion when she told him that Senna didn't really exist.

Shame filled her then, heavy like a fog and she couldn't believe what she'd done. She should've known that this would end badly. Feelings or no feelings, Ichigo was a chivalrous, brave and honorable guy so of course he was going to fight for the girl. Even against her. Sure that stung, but she'd inadvertently brought it on herself. Despite the slight betrayal she felt, Rukia was still the first and only person who rushed to Ichigo's aid as she saw him plummet out of the sky.

After making sure that Orihime's healing dome was working, she'd excused herself to have a nice long cry. It was all her fault. If she'd been a proper Kuchiki who didn't let emotions rule her, then maybe none of this would've happened. She wouldn't be secretly in love with Ichigo and jealous of a girl she barely knew. She still felt guilty as hell, but she managed to lock it away in the back of her mind, put on her detached and serious face and go back and join the others.

She was immensely relieved when Ichigo woke up, and was again the first at his side. Once they were away from the others, Rukia allowed her vulnerability to show. She'd tried to apologize to Ichigo then. "Ichigo, I never should have-"

But he hadn't let her finish. She guessed that their deep connection was somehow still intact if he already knew what she was going to say before she said it. "It's not your fault, Rukia." His words were like a balm to her soul, soothing the burning of her constant guilt. He'd said that she did what she felt she had to do. She wondered how forgiving he'd be if he knew the true reason for her actions.

As such, she felt it was now her duty to make amends, no matter what it cost her. Still, that old man had some balls, yelling at her like that! After what he'd nearly put her through, he could stand to be a little more civil. But she was getting off track. She'd decided to throw herself at the mercy of the Head Captain and try and secure help for Ichigo. But she knew no matter the verdict, she was going in after him. It just seemed sensible to try and get some back-up first. After all, it was her job to be rational to her partner's headstrong behavior.

She should've known the crusty old bastard wouldn't help her. But at least she and Ichigo had friends like Renji, Toshiro, Rangiku, Kenpachi and the others. Once they'd entered the Valley of Screams, all Rukia wanted to do was find Ichigo. But she knew she'd be of more help to him by fighting the goons she encountered along the way. It was too bad though. She'd always wanted to dazzle Ichigo with her Zanpakuto powers, which he'd never seen before.

Before she knew it, Rukia was embroiled in the end-of-the-world crissis. But instead of freaking out about the worlds colliding, all she could do was glance sadly at Senna perched on Ichigo's shoulders.

After Senna's noble sacrifice, Rukia felt worse than guilty. Maybe if the Soul Reapers hadn't been so bent on destroying Senna, they could've found a way to save her. Because the truth was that Senna was a wonderful person who deserved much better than what she got.

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

It was one day later when Rukia found Ichigo, still sulking at Senna's grave site. She walked over to him and sat down beside him in the grass.

"Hey, Rukia," he acknowledged her quietly. "What's up?"

"I just..." Rukia faltered. "I came to say goodbye, Ichigo."

Suddenly his hands were clenching on her shoulders, his face right up next to hers. "No."

Rukia blinked in surprise. "No?"

"No. You're not leaving."

"Ichigo, I have to-"

"You're not leaving!"

"Why do you even care!" Rukia surprised herself with her own outburst. She wanted to retract the words but couldn't bring herself to. She resigned herself to let the chips fall where they may.

Ichigo scowled at her. "What kind of question is that?"

Rukia sneered at him. "A very good one. It seems to me that you're too busy pining over Senna to care about anything else." Or anyone else, she added silently.

Ichigo's expression hardened. "What's gotten into you, Rukia? I'm not "pining" over anyone. I'm simply mourning the death of a great person."

Rukia stood in one fluid motion and glared down at Ichigo. "I love you, okay! But it's obvious to me that you loved Senna or else you wouldn't be taking her death so hard. So I'm going to go back to the Soul Society where I'm wanted." Turning sharply on her heel, Rukia tried to walk away but was immediately pulled down by Ichigo, causing her to fall into his lap. "Let go!"

Ichigo's face was solemn. "I repeat, what has gotten into you, Rukia? Of course I love you! What gave you the impression that I didn't? And Senna was great but I didn't love her. Talk to me, Rukia. Tell me what's going on in that little head of yours."

A lone tear trickled down Rukia's cheek. Ichigo wiped it away with the pad of his thumb. "I'm so stupid."

Ichigo squeezed her tight. "No your not. Just-"

"Yes I am! It's just... She was so much like me and I spent more time being jealous of her than getting to really know her. I bet we could've been friends. I'm really sorry, Ichigo." More tears leaked from her eyes.

Ichigo stroked her hair. "It's okay, love. Now that I think about it, you two did have some eerily similar traits. I think that's what made me more sympathetic to her plight. She reminded me so much of you."

Rukia turned around in Ichigo's embrace and kissed him. He returned her kiss with fervor and soon they were laying spread out on the grass, lost in each other. When they finally broke apart Rukia smiled dazzlingly at Ichigo. "You know, in a weird way, I think we have Senna to thank for this."

Ichigo nodded in agreement. "Yeah, totally. She made the great Rukia Kuchiki, younger sister of the noble ice cube himself, so jealous that she was foaming at the mouth-"

"Shut. Up!"

"And then she just blurted out her undying love for me in a totally unromantic way-"

"Put a sock in it Kurosaki before I dent your manhood."

Ichigo laughed and kissed her temple. "Such a scrappy little thing. And she's all mine."

Rukia snorted. "Yeah, whatever. You just remember that it goes both ways. Now you know that you're not the only possessive one in this relationship."

Ichigo only pulled her closer and buried his nose in her hair. "I love you and only you, Ruki. Always have, always will."

Rukia pressed a kiss to his neck. "Thanks, Ichigo. I love you and only you, too." And thank you too, Senna, Rukia mentally added before losing herself in her beloved's warm embrace. Maybe being jealous wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Review please!


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